Slavia Prague Teammate Handed 10-Match Ban For Racist Behavior
Slavia Prague teammate Ondrej Kudela has been given a 10-match ban by UEFA for “racist behaviour” towards Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara, who will serve a three-game suspension.
Kamara accused Kudela of racially abusing him during the second leg of Rangers’ Europa League last-16 tie against Slavia at Ibrox on March 18.
Kudela insisted he swore at a Rangers player after being fouled but denied using racist language.
The centre-back had been provisionally suspended for one match as UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings, which ruled him out of his side’s 1-1 draw at Arsenal last week.
The Czech Republic international will now be ineligible for the next nine games played by either his club in Europe or his country, including this summer’s European Championship.
As it stands, Kudela will miss the remainder of Slavia’s Europa League campaign – they play the second leg of their quarter-final tie against Arsenal on Thursday night – plus at least five matches at Euro 2020, including the Czech Republic’s group games against Scotland and England.
Kamara has been suspended for three games after he was found guilty of assaulting Kudela after the match.
His ban only covers UEFA club competitions, meaning he will be eligible to represent Finland at the Euros. Both sanctions are open to appeal.
Kamara said last week he had been racially abused on social media “every day” since the incident. His team-mates have boycotted the platforms for a week in support.
Rangers forward Kemar Roofe, who was also racially abused online after being shown a red card for a high-boot challenge on Slavia goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar, was banned for four games by UEFA for “dangerously assaulting another player”.
Rangers were fined a total of €9,000 (£7,800) for improper conduct after Leon Balogun was also sent off and three other players were booked during the match, which the Czech side won 2-0 to progress 3-1 on aggregate.
Police Scotland confirmed a separate investigation into the night’s actions and events is still ongoing.
